ABC Notes Sean Hannity's Support of Cliven Bundy, But Ignores His Condemnation of Bundy's Racism

For the first time on their weekday evening newscasts, the broadcast networks
picked up Cliven Bundy's standoff with the federal government – but only
after Bundy's racist comments went viral and his conservative
supporters denounced them.

Amid what NBC called a "firestorm," the networks made sure to tie
Bundy to the conservatives and Republicans who sympathized with his
cause, but who have since vigorously condemned the racist comments. Obnoxiously, ABC's World News aired Fox News host Sean Hannity's support of the rancher but said nothing of Hannity's condemnation of his racist words.

"Before
this, Bundy had become a cause celebre for Fox News's Sean Hannity,"
reported ABC's David Kerley. He failed to report Hannity calling Bundy's
remarks "beyond repugnant" on his Thursday radio show.

In the wake of Bundy's "firestorm," the networks pointed out his
conservative supporters who had to backtrack. "The dispute made Bundy a
hero to some conservatives," noted CBS's Nancy Cordes.

"But now, not two weeks later, he [Bundy] has lost much of his freedom
fighter status in conservative circles with these comments about race,"
reported NBC's Mike Taibbi.

Below are transcripts of the segments:

ABC
WORLD NEWS
4/24/14
6:35 p.m. EDT

DIANE SAWYER: And we head out west tonight, where there's a new battle
surrounding a rancher who had become a kind of anti-government folk
hero. A man who seemed to be winning a high-stakes showdown with
Washington. Several politicians rallied to his side. But tonight they
are quickly and quietly backing away because of something he said about
race in America. ABC's David Kerley now with a new twist in the
controversy.

(Video Clip)

DAVID KERLEY: The rancher who grazed his cattle on federal land but
refused for two decades to pay fees to the government stared down U.S.
agents with a handful of supporters a week and a half ago. But tonight
he is losing supporters faster than the temperature rises in Nevada
after his racist comments to reporters.

CLIVEN BUNDY, Nevada rancher: I want to tell you one more thing I know
about the negro. They put their young men in jail because they never
learned how to pick cotton. And I've often wondered, are they better off
as slaves picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or
are they better off under government subsidies?

KERLY: And today on a radio program, he didn't help himself much.

BUNDY: If they think I'm racist, they're totally wrong. Again, I'm
wondering are they better off under the old system of slavery or are
they better off under the welfare, the slavery that they're under now.

KERLEY: Before this, Bundy had become a cause celebre for Fox News's Sean Hannity.

SEAN HANNITY, Fox News host: Frankly I thought there was a lack of
proportionality here by the government and snipers and surrounding your
ranch and taking your cattle.

KERLEY: Some Republican lawmakers had also hailed Bundy, including his
home state senator Dean Heller, Texas's Ted Cruz. But tonight, they and
Senator Rand Paul are heading for the hills now trying to distance
themselves from Bundy. Paul saying his remarks on race are "offensive
and I wholeheartedly disagree with him." Tonight, cattleman Bundy with
fewer friends. And he still owes the federal government more than a
million dollars.

(...)

CBS
EVENING NEWS
4/24/14
[6:39 p.m. EDT]

SCOTT PELLEY: High-profile supporters of a controversial Nevada rancher
are stampeding away from him tonight after his comments about African
Americans and slavery. Cliven Bundy became a celebrity among some
conservatives this month when the federal government threatened to
confiscate his cattle because his herd was grazing on federal lands and
Bundy refused to pay the fees. Nancy Cordes has the new developments.

CLIVEN BUNDY: I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro.

NANCY CORDES: At a gathering near his ranch northeast of Las Vegas this
weekend, 67 year-old Cliven Bundy shared his views about African
Americans. His comments were later posted on YouTube.

BUNDY: They abort their young children, they put their young men in
jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often
wondered, were they better off as slaves picking cotton and having a
family life and doing things, or are they better off under government
subsidies?

CORDES: Two weeks ago, Bundy and his supporters, some of them armed,
clashed with federal agents who tried to confiscate his cattle. The
Nevada rancher owes $1.1 million in fees for grazing hundreds of cattle
on federal land for the past twenty years.

BUNDY: It's freedom and liberty and access to our land and get rid of this abusive government.

CORDES: The dispute made Bundy a hero to some conservatives.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Thank you Sean.

CORDES: But now, his admirers on the right are condemning him. Kentucky
Senator Rand Paul called Bundy's comments "offensive." Nevada Senator
Dean Heller who had praised Bundy as a patriot called the comments
"appalling and racist." In a press conference this afternoon, Bundy
defended his remarks.

BUNDY: These people, they're not slaves no more.
They seem to be slaves to the welfare system and this type of thing, but
they have opportunity.

CORDES: Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the top Democrat in the Senate,
has called Bundy and his supporters domestic terrorists. He was
criticized by that – for that by Nevada Republicans, but they may not be
defending Bundy quite so vigorously going forward, Scott.

(...)

NBC
NIGHTLY NEWS
4/24/14
7:10 p.m. EDT

BRIAN WILLIAMS: In this country he was hailed by some as a populist
hero, the Nevada rancher who resisted the government's attempts to
remove his cattle from federal lands. But tonight it's what Cliven Bundy
has had to say in recent days about race that is causing outrage and
has some of his supporters running from him and fast. And fair warning,
his comments contain language seldom heard in this day in age. Our
report tonight from NBC's Mike Taibbi.

(Video Clip)

MIKE TAIBBI: In the age of viral videos, everything can happen quickly.
Cliven Bundy's supporters, many of them armed, helped him hold off
government attempts to seize his cattle that had been grazing on federal
lands, even though he's refused to pay more than a million in grazing
fees and fines.

BUNDY: We're after freedom. I don't recognize the United States government as even existing.

TAIBBI: But now, not two weeks later, he's lost much of his freedom
fighter status in conservative circles with these comments about race.

BUNDY: I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro.

TAIBBI: Comments first referenced in today's New York Times and now
gone viral, about African Americans he saw outside an urban housing
project.

BUNDY: They abort their young children, they put their young men in
jail because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often
wondered, are they better off as slaves picking cotton and having a
family life and doing things or are they better off under government
subsidies?

TAIBBI: The fallout has been swift. The distance from hero to pariah
traveled at the speed of the internet starting with some of Bundy's
major supporters. Senator Rand Paul called the comments "racist and
offensive." Nevada Senator Dean Heller's word, "appalling." And
conservative commentators on Fox News that supported Bundy's cause were
suddenly silent or openly critical. Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter
Heath Rogers, who's followed Bundy's case for years, says the rancher
has one logical move.

HEATH ROGERS, Las Vegas Review-Journal: I think Cliven has to look
inside himself and maybe he might be a bigger man by saying I'm sorry.

TAIBBI: He did not apologize today, repeating his comments about race.
But while the dispute over grazing his cattle without paying fees isn't
over –

AMY LUEDERS, Bureau of Land Management: The courts have ruled that his cattle are in trespass.

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